2014 Hawaii Business Top 250: A guide to Hawaii’s biggest companies and nonprofits

Featuring the biggest companies and not for profits in the state

August, 2014

This month, the Hawaii Business Top 250 celebrates 30 years of providing data and insight on Hawaii’s biggest companies.

The main list is a ranking based on gross sales, a key measure of success and influence in the local economy, but we have added information on profits, jobs, leadership and other topics to paint a more complete picture.

Our two primary sources of information are a host of public records and a survey of the companies; the survey provides a lot of self-reported data. We spent months collecting the information, but some large companies are not on the list because:

Their U.S. or international parent did not provide separate data for Hawaii operations; or

The company is Hawaii-owned, but was unwilling to disclose its annual gross sales to us.

Data Collection

Hawaii Business researchers kicked off the year by compiling a list of potential companies for the survey, using annual reports, national databases, previous Top 250 lists and referrals.

HB researchers also used important public sources such as filings with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission, federal tax forms 990 and current investor relation reports. When these documents were not available, our researchers surveyed the companies directly and asked for self-reported financial data.

Businesses are asked to use generally accepted accounting principles for their industries in calculating gross sales. If questions about GAAP arose, we relied on the expertise of the accounting firm Accuity LLP.

Nonprofits on the list reported their total annual revenue. Depending on the organization, this might include contributions, funding for services or proceeds from activities that support the nonprofit’s mission.

A detailed list of this year’s Top 250 companies can be purchased at hawaiibusiness.com/top250. Hawaii Business does not assume any liability for the absolute correctness of the information.

Our Definitions

Rank: Companies and nonprofits are ranked by total gross sales. Some companies are tied based on the data we collected; others may appear tied, but only because their annual gross sales have been rounded to the nearest hundred thousand dollars.

Gross sales: We use the latest available annual company revenue for the local operations and its subsidiaries. Calendar-year revenues are requested, but fiscal-year revenues are reported if calendar-year information is not readily available. For companies headquartered in Hawaii, sales reflected the revenues of the company and all of its subsidiaries in the state, on the mainland or overseas. For a company whose parent was based outside of Hawaii, revenues reflected Hawaii sales only.

Employees: In most cases, the figure reflects full-time employees only.

Parent company: This refers to the parent of the ranked company. Each company surveyed was asked to identify its ultimate parent company and its headquarters location.

Should your company be in the Top 250?

Your Execs Should Be in the Black Book

If your company made it into the Top 250, your top four executives qualify to be showcased in our Black Book, a list of who’s who in Hawaii’s business community. It is one of our magazine’s most popular annual features and appears in the December issue. If you haven’t already submitted your information for the Black Book, email managing editor Gina Gelber at ginag@hawaiibusiness.com.

The full list is printed in the August 2014 issue of Hawaii Business, available at stores around Hawaii.